Technology

Electric Fork Gives a Salty Taste To Your Tongue Without The Sodium

Restaurant in Tokyo offering a salt-free five-course meal to patrons. The star of the show was an “electro fork” that can send a salty taste to your taste buds when its button is pressed, A patron at the restaurant said he was surprised at how convincing the salty taste was.

The salty taste is triggered by a current generated by the utensil, and the fork is able to mimic sour, bitter and metallic taste sensations. A sweet taste is sorely missing however — bad news for dessert fans.

The fork was developed by researchers at Tokyo University, and the restaurant pop-up was put together by advertising firm J. Walter Thompson’s Japanese division.

The pop-up, in the Higashi-Azabu district, follows an earlier trial of the pop-up two weeks ago in another restaurant at Setagaya, in Tokyo. The fork isn’t available for retail.